Critically evaluate the achievements of feminism's first wave Essay

Critically evaluate the acts of feminisms first of all joggle - study ExampleOne of the major achievements for this first wave was securing the vote for women (also known as suffrage), occurring in 1918 (and extend to younger women in 1928) in the United Kingdom (Fisanick, 2007) and at similar times in umteen other Western countries. The purpose of this essay is to explore womens suffrage in the U.K. and the U.S. from the perspective of the achievements do by feminisms first wave. To do this, many of the achievements of feminisms first wave will be critically examined in their historical and modern context to evaluate their triumph in the wider frame of feminism. Firstly, it is important to define first wave feminism. Walby (2011) suggests that the first wave of feminism, in Britain at least, had ended with the winning of womens suffrage in 1918 and 1928, as described above. Walby (2011) also describes a wave as being present in many areas of sociology, impacting the discipli ne by making it more relevant to the input of interest and achievements during the wave. Taking this into account, we can understand that the first wave of feminism is in that locationfrom an input of ideas, research and action into feminism that led up to the winning of womens suffrage in the early parts of the 20th century. ... The origins and demoraliseing dates for first wave feminism are more gruelling to define. Some scholars believe that first wave began with the influence of the Enlightenment and changes in Protestantism (Apetrei, 2010). These changes in familiarity as a whole led to more liberal thought that was based around humanism, although these changes were not bound to the position of women (Apetrei, 2010). Within the U.S., the feminist movement can also be linked to changes in society as a whole, such as the anti-slavery movement which sought to equalize individuals within the state. Squire (1993) suggests that there are many similarities between the lives of s laves in parts of the United States and that of women around the same time, such as the inability to vote and lack of property rights. Despite these early signs of feminism and debates about the official start date for first wave feminism, obvious changes had been made to the lives of women in the U.S. and the U.K. One of the first important documents for women was the Seneca fall Declaration from 1848, which discussed a number of female-related rights issues. One important conquest for the Seneca Falls group was the Married Womens Property Act, passed in 1848, which allowed a woman the right to keep property that was her own, rather than it automatically comme il faut part of her husbands estate (Fisanick, 2007). Eisler (1987) suggests that this was a huge kick upstairs towards the equalization of women in society, peculiarly as it allowed women to participate in the economic sphere on a more equal basis. However, this achievement for first wave feminism was not received particu larly well and was a minor gain (Apetrei,